The 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights parade has resumed after being suspended after a motorcycle accident injured 10 people.
The city of Palm Springs said on Facebook that a traffic officer was involved in an accident on the parade route around 6 p.m. and that all injured were being treated at local hospitals. Their injuries were not life-threatening, the city added.
“We appreciate the community’s support and our thoughts are with the officer, his family and all those injured today,” the city said.
According to an eyewitness, a nurse who happened to be attending the parade with her family, a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while trying to perform a trick, severing his hand in the process. The motorcycle then continued into the crowd without him, crashing directly into an elderly couple and injuring several other nearby event attendees.
The 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights parade was temporarily suspended after a motorcycle crash injured six to seven people. According to an eyewitness of a nurse who happened to be attending the parade with her family, a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while trying to do a trick on Saturday, December 7, 2024, cutting off his hand in the process.
Veronica Ortiz, an event attendee from Pittsburgh, Calif., told The Desert Sun at the scene: “We did see him have a wheelie and all of a sudden he slid sideways and lost He took control and let go of the car.
A Desert Sun photographer at the scene saw six people being taken away on stretchers, but all seemed alert.
Another event spectator standing near the accident noted that the officer was driving unusually fast before the accident.
“I told my partner they were going incredibly fast,” said witness Byron Ruvalcaba of Riverside. “There were kids running around… it seemed to me like they were recklessly (fast) ) travel. My guess is 25 to 35 miles per hour.”
Rubalcaba was one of the first people to run towards the officers after the accident and confirmed that his hand was severed, possibly the most serious injury of the incident. He also saw people attending the event yelling at police.
The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. near 288 North Palm Canyon Road. The California Highway Patrol is investigating and has asked for videos and images to be sent to PSCityGovernmentMedia@palmspringsca.gov.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
The 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights parade was temporarily suspended after a motorcycle crash injured six to seven people. According to an eyewitness of a nurse who happened to be attending the parade with her family, a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while trying to do a trick on Saturday, December 7, 2024, cutting off his hand in the process.
This article originally appeared in Palm Springs Desert Sun: Police ram crowds at Palm Springs holiday parade
